So, summer 2019 began with brisk breezes shooing away the humidity that sums up Maryland summers.

Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it. ~Russell Baker

As summer starts, an article on wildflowers made me look a bit more carefully at our flowerbeds.

The hydrangeas are more lavish, as they are now three years old. But, they are delighting no one except those who venture around the back of our home. So let me share:

freshly cut sumer flowers

In the front, the Echinacea are prospering; the black-eyed Susan’s remain on the verge of bursting out; but the knock-out roses look a mite knocked out. The daisies are late and the single pot of pansies hangs on.

Grand as all are, they are no match for memories of  a field of bluebonnets — just saying.

BLUEBONNETS
Ennis Texas 2014

But chores interrupted my inspection.  Then, an unexpected visitor in our basement reminded me I like nature in controllable limits.

Oh, please no!

How did a slug get into our basement, and crawl halfway across the floor with me noticing its slimy pace? For this one left no discernible trail!

Yikes! Could it have dropped from the ceiling? Not wishing to look up, I exited quickly.

I wonder what the Lord was thinking as He created the slug?

What’s more, I wondered what that slug was thinking traversing a cold, cement floor?

Sir Douglas relocated the intruder outside. That was a given!

I remember watching either a Twilight Zone or Outer Limits story, about a man who was turned into a slug. It made an impression; after seeing the episode, I was never again tempted to pour salt on a slug!

Television has done much for psychiatry by spreading information about it, as well as contributing to the need for it.  ~Alfred Hitchcock

By the By:

What has now become the longest time I have stayed on a healthy living plan continues. The scales are descending for both of us. Not that anybody has exclaimed Why ya’ll are just shadows of your chubby selves!

The addition of lean proteins has done what I never wholly believed they could: they have curbed a bit of my insatiable appetite for salt, sugar, and chips.

Also,  a friend suggested I follow two habits that have strengthened my shaky resolve:

• Eat a healthy breakfast within 30 minutes of arising.
• Don’t go more than two and a half to three hours between meals during the day without eating a healthy snack.

God willing, because vegetables and fruits abound this time of year, we will continue.

To that end, I share an informative link: Eat More of the Good Foods. The author notes:

To sum up, two happy things here:

1. Adding good food to your diet can do great things for your health

2. You don’t need to spend a gazillion dollars to get whole grains and fruit.

 Grateful I am for the first day of summer weather because the prospect of an  evening stroll on the first night – the longest night of the year – is delightful!